Ebay Inc

Executives from EBay Inc., the world's largest Web auctioneer, and Microsoft Corp., the world's biggest software maker, are forming a group to address security issues on the Internet. The Global Council of Chief Security Officers is starting with 10 members from some of the largest U.S. companies and will be expanded to include members from outside the U.S., according to EBay Vice President of Security Howard Schmidt.

The title of the most powerful businesswoman went to EBay Inc.'s Meg Whitman. The chief executive of the auction website surpassed Carly Fiorina, chairwoman and CEO of computer equipment maker Hewlett-Packard Co., who has held the title every year since Fortune magazine began its annual list of the most powerful women in business in 1998. Whitman earned Fortune's top spot because of EBay's significant growth in the last year. EBay's profit last quarter was double Wall Street's expectations.

All auctions by EBay Inc. were suspended temporarily Monday after its Web site suffered a server outage at about 8:30 a.m. EDT and was unable to process bids or accept new listings. The problem kept EBay from hosting auctions of just-released merchandise tied to the upcoming "Star Wars" movie until service was restored at 2 p.m. EBay said auctions slated to end during the shutdown or within an hour afterward will be extended 24 hours.

EBay Inc. agreed to buy privately held Rent.com for $415 million in one of at least three acquisitions of classified listings companies this year. EBay will pay about $385 million in stock and $30 million in cash for Rent.com, a real-estate listing website, the San Jose-based company said. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter, will probably decrease the company's 2005 earnings, EBay said. EBay shares fell 95 cents to $114.75 on Nasdaq.

EBay Inc., which has been aggressively expanding in Asia, plans to increase its stake in South Korea's largest online auction company. The San Jose-based Internet auction giant said it would buy nearly 3 million publicly held shares of Internet Auction Co. from institutional investors, mainly venture capitalists, to boost its ownership stake to 86% from 62%. The $325.6-million cash purchase is expected to be completed as soon as Seoul-based Internet Auction's stock hits $108.

EBay Inc., the world's largest Internet auctioneer, will pay cash for Rent.com instead of a combination of cash and stock after EBay's shares fell since announcing the purchase. The company will pay $415 million for Rent.com, a classified listings company, instead of $385 million in stock and $30 million in cash. The transaction will be completed this month, San Jose-based EBay said in a regulatory filing.

PayPal, EBay Inc.'s online payment services division, said it would offer as much as $100 million in holiday rebates and free shipping to fend off competition from Google Inc. Consumers will receive as much as $20 in cash-back rebates from PayPal when they make online purchases on EBay and certain merchant websites in North America, San Jose-based PayPal said in announcing the biggest promotion in its eight-year history. The rebates are to run from Nov. 23 to May 15.

EBay Inc., the online auction house, will start collecting a fee to manage money deposited in its PayPal Money Market Fund, the San Jose-based company said. PayPal, an electronic payment service with some 87 million customers in more than 40 countries, sweeps funds that customers keep in their accounts into the money market fund. The company pays a seven-day average yield of 4.38% on money in those accounts.

EBay Inc., an Internet auctioneer, revised its user agreement, offering insurance and addressing issues such as counterfeit items, seeking to make the site safer for users as it comes under investigation on fraud complaints. EBay said it will cancel the account of anyone found to have engaged in fraudulent activity. The move comes as the San Jose, Calif.-based company is being investigated by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs over users' complaints about fraud.